The Snatcher
by BeeDee92
Summary: You never heard about the time on the run, when Hermione stepped outside of the protective borders of their camp to take a bath, and came face to face with a man who had a deep obsession with her. What happens when she is cornered? What does he want? And what does all of this have to do with her scarf. Completely canon.
1. Chapter 1

"Hermione wake up, it's your turn to take watch." A voice whispered through the darkness that clouded the witches mind. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately was met with the sapphire blue eyes that always made her heart beat faster.

"Five more minutes Ron…." She mumbled into her pillow as she burrowed further under the blankets. She heard a low chuckle as he rubbed her back.

"Come on Mione, just for a few hours, and then its Harry's turn. Plus the necklace is sort of weighing on me." he stated, adding the last part more to himself then for her but it did its job.

She sat up, stretched in a way that was reminiscent of her dear old half kneazle Crookshanks, and gave a big yawn. "Alright hand it over and catch some shut eye, see you in the morning." He gave her a tired smile as he handed her the necklace before crawling into the bed she had previously occupied and immediately began to snore. She looked down at the red head and brushed some of the hair off of his freckled face. "If we don't make it, I want to know I told you this at least once, so Ron." She whispered getting quieter. "I love you. " After uttering those words in to the still darkness of the night she grabbed her jacket and walked out to the dying fire to keep watch.

Two hours passed and the necklace felt heavy on her neck. She ran her hands through her grimy hair and looked longingly at the lake that was just outside of the protective borders of their camp. The only thing on her mind for the past hour had been how desperately nice the water would feel against her dirty skin.

Ignoring her growing need to submerge herself into the sparkling water, she picked up an old copy of the Daily Prophet that was dated for two weeks ago, and there on the front page of the prophet sat a man she had come face to face with months ago, although he didn't know. She studied him, his dark hair pulled back away from a handsome chiseled face, dark brooding eyes, and a smirk that promised mischief. She stared a little harder at the photo; something about it was bothering her. Minutes passed as she studied him and suddenly it clicked, that was HER scarf around his neck! She glanced at the title of the story, "Scabior: The Snatcher That Has Snatched Our Hearts!" Hermione rolled her eyes, must have been written by Rita Skeeter.

She scanned the writing, and learned he was supposedly number two on the list of the hottest bachelors in England, her nose scrunched up at the fact that Malfoy was number one. He was 25 years old and he stated he loved his job because, "hunting was always a passion of mine, now I get to put my skills to work for the ministry. It's thrilling, the chase, and when you finally catch what you have spent so long hunting, the victory you feel coursing through your veins, there is nothing like it." Hermione raised an eyebrow but kept reading, nibbling her lower lip when Rita asked about his new accessory that hadn't left his neck in months, wondering if there was a special woman in his life.

"This scarf, I found it tied to a tree, it belonged to someone very important to me, I don't know her personally but I feel because of this scarf I share a connection with her. See I know things about this person just because I've studied it, there is a tear on the end, the shows it got caught, and she is either very impatient or was in a hurry and couldn't bother to try and unsnag it. There is a stain from coffee on the other end where it looked like it spilled; she like most everyone else isn't a morning person. But you can tell this was a very prized possession of hers, she wore it often based on the fact it's a little worn in areas but other than those few problems it's in immaculate condition. Her smell lingers even now on the fabric, light floral with a mix of firewood and dirt, which tells me, she was on the run."

After reading that Hermione was shocked, he was very observant, she looked down and she felt goose bumps rise up across her skin. Hermione decided to keep reading as Skeeter asked if he had any clues as to who the owner of the mystery scarf was, "Hermione Granger. I have no doubt it once belong to 1/3 of the golden trio and it helps remind me that one day, someday soon, I'll catch them."

Hermione tried to calm the unease she felt about this stranger in the paper, and threw the paper into the dying embers, giving them a quick new life that died out seconds after flaring up. She sighed loudly and glanced at the lake once again debating whether or not to give in to her need to be clean.

She knew it was risks but if something happened she could easily find her way back through the protective shield, and she highly doubted that anything would even happen tonight, the snatchers didn't even know if the trio was even on the same continent as them. Plus she could see where the area of the campsite was just as well from the crystal clear water as she could from the uncomfortable log she was occupying, and be able to alert Harry and Ron if something happened.

Looking down at her hands, and seeing the black dirt that caked the underside of her finger nails, made her make up her mind, she stood up and quickly made her way outside of the enchantments. She glanced back and tried to calm her mild panic at the fact she couldn't see the camp anymore, just because she couldn't see it didn't mean it wasn't there.

Quickly she undressed and performed a temporary warming charm on the water, it wouldn't last long, but it would last long enough that she could clean up. The steam from the warm water as it hit the cold air was mesmerizing as it danced over the surface of the water. She waded in and silently dived into the water. The red of the necklace vibrant against her pale skin and her dark hair a halo around her face as she emerged from the depths of the steaming lake feeling better and quickly scrubbed her hair. She never even noticed the dark eyes watching her until he spoke. "Why 'ello beautiful, I've been lookin for you."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thank you to those who reviewed and are following this story, here is the second chapter, I'm thinking one more after this and it will be set in the future. I hope you enjoy it although I had a lot of distractions so I'm sorry for any inconsistencies, or grammatical errors. Grammar isn't a strong point of mine. Anyway I do hope you enjoy it! And I love reviews:)**

Hermione would have screamed except every function in her seemed to have frozen in that moment and all she could do was stare up at the face she had just been studying only minutes before with wide fearful eyes. "W….Wha…..H…How did you find me?" She squeaked.

She heard a low rumble and realized he was chuckling as he leisurely leaned against a nearby tree just a few feet away from her. "I've been huntin you princess, and like a magician that doesn't reveal his secrets, I won't reveal mine. But don't worry your pretty head; I'm off duty… tonight." He smirked, giving her a look that made her blush from the top of her head to the end of toes, as she realized the moonlight reflected against her alabaster skin in the water, making her very naked body visible to anyone within eyesight, including the leering man in front of her. She cursed her stupidity, if she had just listened to her logical side she wouldn't have been in this horrific situation in the first place. "Not talking to me beautiful? That's not very nice, I've waited months to catch you alone outside of your protective border, and now you're going to deny me the privilege of your brilliant mind?"

Hermione stared at him, and saw he was between her and her wand that sat on her pile of clothes, and decided maybe she shouldn't upset him, he had said he wasn't on duty tonight, there was a personal reason he was here. Unless, he was lying, but honestly, who was she to provoke the dangerous man with the wand? "Why did you hold on to my scarf?" she asked uncomfortably, she felt so vulnerable, she felt naked without her wand, actually she WAS naked.

Scabior on the other had seemed to be amused by her situation as he was grinning at her like he was the Cheshire cat. "Did you read my article!" Hermione nodded in confusion. "Good! I was so hoping you would; I really hope it impressed you! Although Skeeter has this awful habit of distorting the truth, like I'm 28 not 25, and no my eyes weren't sparkling with unshed tears as I talked about the scarf, and no I was not cursed as a baby to never be able to speak my first name again, I just happen to dislike it very much. Anyway I held onto your scarf as a reminder of our moment so many months ago!"

"Our moment?" She questioned, wondering what in the world he was talking about.

His grin lessened slightly as he stared at her, "Yes our moment!" He exclaimed and then his face contorted into a sneer. "You think I didn't know! I couldn't see you, but I knew you were there princess, I was positive you were there just as much as I knew it was daytime. I couldn't see you, but your presence was overwhelming, your perfume was floating around in a subtle cloud, I could feel the soft stirring in the air with every soft breath you took, and the fear you felt as you stood face to face with someone who was after you, well, I could taste it." She stared at him intrigued by what he was saying. "Being a snatcher, you have to be very in tune with your senses, hear a heartbeat, taste and smell an emotion, feel an aura, see the invisible, and think like the prey."

Hermione was very curious about his job, she couldn't help it, she was someone who always wanted to expand her knowledge and he seemed to be almost humoring her inquisitive mind. She had been so interested in his quick lecture about his job, she hadn't realized the water was lukewarm, she knew that with the winter air it wouldn't be long where she would either freeze in the water or have to emerge and risk being caught by him. "And how did you know the scarf was mine?"

He barked out a laugh, "We were tracking you and the two dunderheads, when suddenly I smelled something floating softly through the air that had been driving me mad for weeks! I followed the smell and what do I find but a pretty pink scarf tied to a tree." He paused for a second confusion marring his features. "Why was your scarf tied to a tree beautiful?"

Hermione decided to go with the truth, she figured it wouldn't kill her; either the man in front of her or the cold that was slowly starting to seep into her skin making her shiver would first. "Ron had stormed off, it was a signal as to the fact we had been there."

"I see….. I was hoping you fell madly in love with me after our moment and left it for me to find…." He mumbled and she realized he was being serious and was deeply disturbed by that. "Anyway I knew who ever had owned the scarf had been the same woman that had stood invisible before me. And then I saw it, in gold embroidery along an edge, H.J. Granger. And there is only one Granger in the entire wizarding world, and I happened to be hunting her. But I came here for a reason princess and do you want to know why?"

"To give me back my scarf?" She asked hopefully, it had been from her mother and was very special to her.

He chuckled loudly, "Not quite, originally it was to shag you senseless." Hermione squeaked at that suggestion. "But now, I'm pretty content to just sit here and gaze at your beauty and talk to you, although I plan on getting a kiss before I leave princess, so if you want your scarf, come and get it." He teased.

Hermione knew he was goading her but honestly she knew at this point she was blue and unless she really did want to freeze to death she had to get out, and if all he wanted was a kiss, well maybe it wouldn't be horrible, as long as he didn't kill her or take her away…." Sighing she waded out of the water trying in vain to cover her body. Scabior grinned and shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her when she got to him before casting a warming charm on her that made her sigh in relief.

"You are just as brave as I thought you'd be." He murmured as he held her in his arms. Hermione looked up to say something but his lips stopped her as they slammed against hers in a passionate kiss that she felt down to her toes. A few minutes later he pulled away from her and smirked at her. "A quick hint princess, tomorrow I'll be back on the hunt, and I'd love if you made this more exciting than just handing yourself over like you did tonight." Hermione felt herself blush even though she knew she was still blue from the cold, this strange man had such a strange obsession with her, and she couldn't even tell you his first name! She nodded and he quickly stole one more kiss before turning and walking away.

"Wait!" She yelled. "What's your name, your first name?"

She heard his laugh even from the shadows, "John." Was all she heard before she heard a pop that signaled she was now alone.

John Scabior, she thought as she dressed, that was such a, a muggle name! Quickly she made her way through the enchantments and back onto the uncomfortable log, and checked her watch, she had another hour before she would wake Harry and join Ron in blissful sleep, sighing she pulled Scabior's jacket tighter around her. Her eyes widened when she realized something, he had tricked her, HE STILL HAD HER SCARF!


	3. Chapter 3

**I tried to write another chapter between the last one and this one, but I realized, I had already finished this story in my head, and if I kept trying to attempt to write another chapter it would never get done! And I want to say sorry for the wait. I hope you guys are satisfied with the end, I know I am:) Thank you for those who reviewed and followed this story! I really enjoyed writing it, this is actually the first time i've ever finished a story before! So thank you and here you go, THE LAST CHAPTER! **

Hermione was enjoying the sun as she walked down the street of Hogsmead, the shops were open, Hogwarts was repaired, and people were finally starting to move on from the horrible war that had happened only a year ago. She couldn't believe how long ago it seemed, yet it felt like it was only yesterday she had felt the fear that her best friends life had ended. She slowly walked up the front steps of her cottage and smiled, there was a package on the front steps.

Slowly picking it up she let herself into her house, Crookshanks was there and she automatically scratched him behind his ear before making it into her tidy living room. She sat down and frowned, there was no return address; there were no markings on it at all. She quickly grabbed her wand and did a few diagnostic tests to make sure there was no hidden curses inside, the war had made her very weary, even now she slept with her wand clutched in her hand under her pillow, and would look for multiple exits in any room she entered. After it came across safe she decided to open it.

No! She thought her mind reeling in shock, no way… he was dead, she had watched him fall to his death during the final battle, the memory causing a pang to hit her heart, that was one of many memories she was trying to forget. But the evidence that said otherwise was staring at her; a pink scarf in a brown box stared back at her almost teasingly.

She remembered him well, even if it was only one meeting it was forever engraved into her mind, his face, his eyes, his kiss, she would never forget him. She had learned not long after their meeting that the jacket was his way of knowing where she was, anytime she wore it he would be there a shadow outside the protective wards. A week after meeting him, he had taken her to Malfoy Manor, it had been a horrific experience but after they were free he always made a point to stand outside the protective barrier of their camp. It was a constant comfort to know he was there, they never spoke but stood in silence, she had a feeling that even though she was in a protective bubble, he had been able to see her, his eyes never left her no matter where she went.

She glanced down at the scar that marred her arm; it was a constant reminder that the war hadn't just been a very bad dream. She felt ashamed at first anytime she saw that word permanently carved into her skin, but after some time she had become proud to wear it, yes she was a muggleborn, or as her arm stated a mudblood, but she was the smartest witch of her age and she was a walking contradiction to what the purebloods believed.

Hermione pulled the scarf out of the box and held it up to her face, it smelled like bon fire and woods; she smiled slightly and draped it around her neck. Glancing down her eyebrows shot up as she saw tons of newspaper articles piled under it. She pulled them out and glanced through them and her eyebrows shut up, they were in order from oldest to latest and it started at her first year in Hogwarts.

The first one she came across was from her first year, she was standing between two eleven year old boys as they smiled at the camera, "Troll in the Bathroom!" the article read, she smiled, it was obviously trying to play off of what Professor Quirrell said right before his collapse in the Great Hall. She looked at the next one and saw it was from second year, it was a list of kids who had been petrified and a small photo of each of them. The third article was during her fourth year, it was the one of her and Harry right before he went out to fight his dragon. She glanced through the next few quickly, most were of her on the most wanted list, and rewards for if they could give the ministry any clues about where she was. There were a few articles about the war and interviews with the Heroine of the golden trio. After that the articles became more upbeat and more scientific.

An article about her help with rebuilding Hogwarts, there was one that she had written about her studies on Horcrux's and the effects they have on people, explaining how it effect Ron and Harry more on an emotional level but it affected her more like alcohol would, lowering her natural common sense and making her more apt to take an unnecessary risk. She laughed out loud at the fact that the part where she had talked about her taking unnecessary risks was circled and had a small question mark next to it, obviously questioning if she was referring to him, she nodded as if to answer his question even though he wasn't there. Then came the most recent article, the announcement of her and Ron's engagement, she glanced at the simple ring she wore and felt her heart swell with love at just the thought of her red headed fiancé. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, he really kept tabs on her.

Standing up she brought the scarf to her room and frozen in shock, a note was stuck to her mirror, and she had a pretty good idea who it was from. She set the scarf on her bed and walked over and grabbed the note.

_Princess,_

_I guess I didn't really fall to my death, surprise! Oh and try not to be to freaked out I had to get my jacket somehow eh? I'm going north and need it to stay warm, if you were curious. I got rid of that horrendous coffee stain on your scarf, do try and take better care of it and yourself. Don't worry your pretty head to much beautiful; I'll always be around keeping an eye on you. Congrats on your engagement to Weasley._

_John_

_P.S. I took a pair of your knickers, cheers!_

Hermione chuckled and looked at a photo of her and Ron as she grabbed the temporarily forgotten scarf. Scabior would always be the handsome man who was obsessed with her, but Ron, he was the handsome man who loved her.


End file.
